I feel like the last two and a half years have been a crash course for our family in living within a very tight budget. With two added children through foster care, but no additional support in raising them (our state doesn’t offer stipends for relative or kinship placements to care of the children they raise) we’ve had to keep things slim…
And I feel like I can offer some tips for others who might be feeling a squeeze right now due to rising costs of, well, everything!
Our children, but not our income, has doubled since 2019, so it’s safe to say we’ve learned a few tricks to keep going!
Here are a few things we do to help…
1. Couponing and savings apps are easy to use & can yield big results. Today I cashed out on two apps with enough to get one of my kid’s a birthday present completely free, and last month I was able to buy our oldest son a discounted kayak with money I saved using coupons though Ibotta!
To make it easier for you to find these apps, I’m going to include my favorites and my referral link to join! Some of them even give you money for joining through my link!
Ibotta connects to accounts or lets you upload receipts to earn cash back on select items: https://ibotta.onelink.me/iUfE/1005cd3f?friend_code=feqrgbb
Receipt Hog is a receipt uploading app that earns you PayPal or Amazon money back: https://app.receipthog.com/r/pent6322
Fetch allows you to upload recipts and earn points back to cash in for gift cards: https://fetchrewards.onelink.me/vvv3/referraltext?code=9XM3X
Upside gives you cash back on gas and food: https://upside.app.link/ZNd3cxuQJrb Use promo code NAOMI89592 to get an extra 15¢/gal bonus on your first purchase.
TrueBill is a budgeting app that allows you to set the donation you pay to utilize it: https://truebill.com
If you use Amazon frequently, check to see if your account is eligible for the Amazon Shopper Panel app. I can’t link to it, because you have to qualify, but I’ve saved over $130 towards Amazon purchases by answering surveys and uploading 10 receipts each month!
*I realize all these apps are tracking my spending, but I already know the stores are tracking my purchases (I get coupons from Meijer each month that are extremely specific, for example!) so I feel I might as well benefit from it since it’s already happening.
2. Look for free activities and benefits. We like to plug into the community pages & calendars to find fun things to do with minimal cost! Also look for things like free lunches, school supplies, etc if you need them! Our family is so grateful to our community foster closet, which provides free diapers, wipes, clothing, toys & more to foster families. It became clear we would not get far without their help, and I’m so glad we found this resource!
Last week we took advantage of the free admission day at the fair to check things out! We also learned that by going before noon we could get in free, so we did just that later in the week!3. Rewards programs through companies and referral links! One handy thing about Young Living is they have both an amazing rewards program (called Loyalty Rewards) which saves you money by racking up points to spend later AND you can earn money just by sharing the products you love with your personal YL link! Use restaurant loyalty apps, department & grocery store savings programs… always be sure you check you aren’t leaving money on the table! I also always try to check to see if a friend can make or sells something I’m looking for, as I prefer to shop local. And I try to always support my friends!
Also, if you want to learn more about saving on Young Living, I’m doing an event on just that: YL on a budget
I’d love you hear if you have any tips too! Don’t be shy! ~Naomi
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